Your future, our focus
P O W E L L, W y o. - C.K.U. graduate Robert Roszkiewicz led the Northwest College Wrestling Team to the national championship and earned personal glory for himself with the national title in the 197-pound weight class.
Roszkiewicz paced the NWC Trappers of Powell, Wyo., as they rewrote the record books at the National Junior College Athletic Association Wrestling Championship tournament Feb. 27 and 28 in Rochester, Minn.
The Trappers posted 155.5 points to claim top dog honors, the most recorded by a single team during the entire 44- year history of the tournament. California's Lassen College was a distant second, posting 89.5 points, followed by Iowa Central Community College (87.5), North Idaho College (82) and Kansas' Colby Community College (78.5)
The NWC grapplers were ranked first in the nation before they even hit the mats this season and never surrendered their position. And for the first time in its history, Northwest College qualified a wrestler for the national tournament in all 10 weight categories.
Roszkiewicz figured prominently in that success story. He ended his NWC wrestling career as an All-American with a 29-4 record for the season.
"Robert is strong and learns quickly," NWC Wrestling Coach Jim Zeigler said. He has definite strengths and uses them to get a quick lead on his opponents, which accounted for a lot of his wins."
Zeigler was named the 2004 national coach of the year at the tournament. During his 11 years at Northwest, he's carved a reputation for his coaching philosophy, which includes monthly team/family dinners, regular off-the-mat team/family activities and weekly (sometimes twice-weekly) compulsory academic study halls for the whole team. He recruits young wrestlers on the basis of their character and potential. When Zeigler selects a prospective wrestler, it's a holistic endorsement of all the attributes and qualities of the young man.
After graduating from Northwest College in May, Roszkiewicz plans to wrestle and pursue his business studies at a NCAA Division I school.
His collegiate success follows an outstanding high school career that included two national wrestling championships.
He is the son of Makgorzata Roszkiewicz of Zalesie and Marek Roszkiewicz of Warsaw.